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Baltic Sea (Anders Omsted) |
EUR-OCEANS will work on seven such systems :
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The unique characteristics of the Baltic Sea will thus provide the EUR-OCEANS Network with the capability to develop generic models applicable to a wide range of situations, and address Baltic ecosystem structure and functioning. Oceanographic processes in the Baltic Sea are significant for Northern Europe, for instance marine resources. Furthermore, the outflow from the Baltic is an important source of fresh water and anomalous nutrient ratios in the northern European shelf Seas, of which they affect major ecological characteristics, e.g. the timing and intensity of the spring bloom in the North Sea.
Physical conditions in the Baltic Sea may be influenced by climate change through (i) direct air-sea interaction, (ii) the magnitude of freshwater runoff, and (iii) interactions with the ocean at the boundary between sea and ocean.
These elements play a key role in determining the water balance, salinity/temperature distributions and ice coverage in the Baltic Sea, which in turn influence biogeochemical processes, pelagic ecosystem functioning and fisheries dynamics. Due to suboxic and anoxic conditions in deeper layers, the Baltic Sea is a source of gases (e.g. N2O, CH4) which have an influence on climate.
The Baltic Sea has been suggested as a case-study area for implementing “ecosystem-oriented management strategiesâ€, a new approach of fisheries management which takes into account the whole ecosystem instead of only the fish populations concerned. Such an approach requires a better understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes in the Baltic Sea, but also a better consideration of socio-economic issues.
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Reference
 Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography
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The Baltic Sea is characterized by strong variations of its physical and biogeochemical characteristics within its boundaries, distinct climate-related trends in pelagic ecosystem structure, and related marine resources. This provides unique opportunities for testing EUR-OCEANS models in an environment which is already well studied (extensive databases and a range of models are already available), and can be easily accessed for additional process studies.